Milford Man Pleads Guilty To Child Porn Charge: Feds

MILFORD, CT — A Milford man faces up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to a federal child pornography charge in connection with a 2019 arrest, according to officials.

Robert C. Harrington, 55, pleaded guilty Wednesday in New Haven federal court to receipt of child pornography, Acting U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Leonard C. Boyle announced.

Federal authorities received information from Australian and Canadian law enforcement in January 2019 that two usernames associated with an IP address at Harrington's Milford residence were "sending and receiving images depicting the sexual abuse of girls through a web-based application," according to a news release.

Investigators searched Harrington's residence on May 15, 2019, and seized his tablet computer. The tablet contained images and videos depicting child sex abuse, officials said. He has been detained since his arrest on May 15, 2019.

Harrington is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 14, at which time he faces a mandatory minimum term of five years in prison and a maximum term of 20 years in prison, according to officials.

The prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit here. To report cases of child exploitation, visit here.